Chapter 367: The Key to Getting Something for Nothing

"Very big problem? How big?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Recently, we talked to a client. It's a very large and well-known textile factory in Nanjiang. This factory has encountered financial issues and needs to sell many of its products at a price far lower than usual. However, there's a condition: each customer must first pay at least 80,000 yuan. We can't come up with that much money all at once, so..."

Before Xiang Lang could finish his explanation, Zhou Ming started to laugh happily. "I see. But I have a question. You said the factory wants to sell its products at a low price but requires an advance payment of at least 80,000 yuan to get the goods, right? First, can you ensure the authenticity of this information?"

"Of course. We have friends in that factory, and they wouldn't deceive us!" Xiang Lang immediately responded affirmatively.

Zhou Ming continued, "Well then, since the information is true, there's only one problem left. You mentioned that in order to get the low price, you need to pay at least 80,000 yuan. But you just said you invested only 30,000 yuan in the stock market. I assume this 30,000 yuan is not your entire fortune but at least a large portion of it, right? This amount doesn't even reach half of the required 80,000 yuan. I'm not sure what you were thinking."

Xiang Lang and his brother's faces immediately turned awkward upon hearing Zhou Ming's words. They didn't know how to respond because Zhou Ming's guess was spot-on. This 30,000 yuan was indeed their entire savings. The problem was that even if they could withdraw this amount from the stock market, it still wouldn't be enough.

"It's just 80,000 yuan. As long as we manage to get this 30,000 yuan, we can borrow from relatives or friends, or even take out high-interest loans. It should be possible to come up with it," Xiang Lang's brother said stubbornly, though his explanation sounded weak and unconvincing.

At this moment, Du Peng suddenly asked, "I think this is secondary. The key issue is that you have your own factory, right? Why not produce your own goods instead of buying from another factory?"

If Zhou Ming's words had only caused some awkwardness before, Du Peng's question made them utterly embarrassed and unsure how to respond. The reason was simple: their so-called "factory" did not actually exist. Their company was just a shell company engaged in speculative trading.

At the beginning of the reform and opening-up period, the market was just starting to open up, and many things were not yet well-regulated. This led to many people exploiting the gaps. There were numerous companies with no real registered capital and even no office space. These companies were essentially doing high-level speculative business—buying goods at low prices and selling them at high prices, profiting from the information asymmetry in the middle.

Zhou Ming knew that his previous boss had started with a shell company, but even without this knowledge, it was easy to make this judgment. It's simple logic: if one truly had a factory, most of their capital would be invested in the factory and inventory. Very few people could come up with such a large amount of money all at once. Only those who engaged in speculative business would focus on capital above all else.

Zhou Ming understood this, which is why he didn't say much. Du Peng, on the other hand, didn't think in this direction due to his different background, and thus asked such a question, making Xiang Lang and his brother quite embarrassed.

"Alright, these details aren't the main point," Zhou Ming said at an opportune moment. "I just want to know what you two are planning to do now. Are you still hoping to get back the money trapped in the stock market to make up the 80,000 yuan?"

Xiang Lang immediately shook his head. "No, it's useless even if we get it back. We can't come up with 80,000 yuan. My brother was just acting irrationally and causing trouble for you, Mr. Zhou."

Xiang Lang said this sincerely. He had never agreed with his brother's erratic behavior, and after hearing Zhou Ming's explanation, he felt even more hopeless. Unless Zhou Ming provided him with money, he wouldn't be able to come up with 80,000 yuan for that order.

But Zhou Ming was not related to him, and just having him sit here and give advice was already quite rare. Xiang Lang knew that Zhou Ming's lecture fees were at least 50,000 yuan and didn't necessarily offer practical advice. Now, Zhou Ming had pointed out his problem so directly. It was unreasonable to ask Zhou Ming to give him 80,000 yuan for nothing just because his stocks were trapped. That had nothing to do with Zhou Ming, and it was entirely unreasonable to impose that on him.

Thinking about this, Xiang Lang sighed inwardly. He stood up and deeply bowed to Zhou Ming, saying, "Thank you very much for your guidance today, Mr. Zhou. I will always remember it."

"Thank me for what guidance? I haven't said anything yet," Zhou Ming replied, surprised.

"Mr. Zhou, what do you mean?" Xiang Lang asked, confused.

"What do I mean? I just said that giving someone a fish is not as good as teaching them to fish, didn't I? If you really want to thank me, you can thank me after I teach you how to get through this difficulty," Zhou Ming said.

"Mr. Zhou, are you serious? Will you really help me find a solution?"

Xiang Lang's eyes lit up with hope, his voice trembling slightly with excitement. He couldn't help but be thrilled. Zhou Ming's words were unexpected. He had thought Zhou Ming was just being polite, but it turned out he was serious.

Who is Zhou Ming? He is a towering figure, the founder of the Nanjiang stock market, the person who led the funding and construction of the Chuling Expressway, and a legend who elevated the development of Nanjiang to new heights. For such a person to offer advice to a shell company owner was definitely big news in Nanjiang!

"Don't be so excited. Since I said I'll help you, I will definitely do so," Zhou Ming said, patting Xiang Lang on the shoulder with a smile. Then he asked, "But before helping you, I need to confirm a few things."

"Mr. Zhou, please ask. I will tell you everything," Xiang Lang said, resolved to disclose everything no matter what Zhou Ming asked.

"Actually, it's nothing special. I just want to know how many clients you currently have," Zhou Ming asked. After a pause, he added, "I mean the clients you regularly do business with and who reliably pay you. You can write them down for me, including their business situations and financial capacities."

Xiang Lang nodded and took out a notebook and pen. He quickly wrote down the details and handed the notebook to Zhou Ming.

There was no real concern about this; Zhou Ming's status and position were far superior to Xiang Lang's, and naturally, Zhou Ming's clients were significant. The clients Xiang Lang had, with only a few thousand to tens of thousands in funds, were of no interest to Zhou Ming.

What surprised Xiang Lang was that Zhou Ming didn't even look at the client details he had carefully written down. Instead, Zhou Ming asked, "Do you understand what you should do now?"

Xiang Lang shook his head in confusion, not understanding Zhou Ming's point.

"Let me tell you a story, which also serves as a question for you," Zhou Ming said. "Two hundred years ago in Lingnan, there was a business center known as the Thirteen Halls, where the richest merchants gathered. There was a poor young man who had no parents and relied on working for others. Although he never went hungry, he had no prospects. However, he had a dream: to become a business manager and marry the most beautiful daughter of the local magistrate. What do you think he should do?"

"That's impossible. It's just a fantasy!" Xiang Lang's brother said bluntly.

Xiang Lang furrowed his brow and humbly asked Zhou Ming, "I can't think of an answer. Please enlighten me."

"This poor young man was very clever. He first went to a business center and said he wanted to be the manager. When asked why, he said he was the son-in-law of the magistrate. Then he went to the magistrate and said he wanted to marry his daughter. When the magistrate asked why, he said he was the manager of the business center and had a lot of money to help him open up official channels." Zhou Ming paused for effect before continuing, "As a result, he succeeded. Both sides agreed to his terms, and he became the manager of the business center and married the magistrate's daughter."

"Is that even possible? Are the business center and the magistrate fools?" Xiang Lang's brother said.

Xiang Lang asked, "Mr. Zhou, do you mean that I can do the same?"

Zhou Ming praised him with "The child is worth teaching." If someone else had said that, Xiang Lang would have scoffed at their presumptuousness. But since Zhou Ming said it, Xiang Lang felt he had the qualification to say such things. Not to mention the story Zhou Ming just told and the method he was about to suggest.

"There's an old saying: 'There's nothing difficult in the world, only people who are afraid of trying.' This means that as long as you're willing to think, you'll always find a way," Zhou Ming said.

 "Just like you don't have money now but want to get something at a low price requiring a large sum of money, there's still a way."

Xiang Lang finally couldn't help but ask, "So what should we do, Mr. Zhou?"

"Use the same trick you use in your shell company, the key to getting something for nothing," Zhou Ming said, pointing at Xiang Lang's notebook. "The key to getting something for nothing lies in your clients."